Helpful Score: 5
Interesting book about two women whose devotion to one another lasted many years, and caused them many problems.
Not at all "smutty" or sensationalized, just a simple love story.
Not at all "smutty" or sensationalized, just a simple love story.
Helpful Score: 4
Well-written and touching story of two women surviving together in the Old West. A departure from Nevada Barr's usual books. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Helpful Score: 1
Two women in the Old West struggle with their lives and their relationship.
An excellent story!
The Miami Herald
"Barr has drawn on women's diaries from the Old West to bring detail to this unusual romance. The result is an intriguing story, sensitive and authentic-sounding, and far different from what is usually considered a Western novel."
St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch
"The novel...is tender and gentle in its exploration of commitment between two women, especially in days when females were expected to live out their narrow lives doing exhausting work and obeying their husbands."
"Barr has drawn on women's diaries from the Old West to bring detail to this unusual romance. The result is an intriguing story, sensitive and authentic-sounding, and far different from what is usually considered a Western novel."
St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch
"The novel...is tender and gentle in its exploration of commitment between two women, especially in days when females were expected to live out their narrow lives doing exhausting work and obeying their husbands."
This book is NOT an Anna Pigeon novel. It is unique. I did wonder throughout the book whether the two heroines would be implicated and thought it would be a much stronger story if they were not. And I was rewarded. The book is an outstanding illustration of the problems women faced in the 19th century, and shows a rather unique solution to an otherwise impossible problem that should never have occurred. Whether we want to admit it or not, women have come a long way in the United States, and it is now possible to function as adults, while in the era of this setting, it was not. There are a few interesting twists. It is said this is based on women's diaries from the era, and I can well imagine.
The book also illustrates the way in which a husband's cruelty was more or less taken for granted by most wives, who were powerless to resist. It does not paint a particularly accurate picture of a true Christian husband, though there is some hint that the cruel husbands at least claimed to confess the Christian faith. From reading nearly all of this author's books I am aware she is not totally knowledgeable and could profit from doing a bit more homework. Her bias is mild, but it shows. Not bad for a first novel, overall.
The book also illustrates the way in which a husband's cruelty was more or less taken for granted by most wives, who were powerless to resist. It does not paint a particularly accurate picture of a true Christian husband, though there is some hint that the cruel husbands at least claimed to confess the Christian faith. From reading nearly all of this author's books I am aware she is not totally knowledgeable and could profit from doing a bit more homework. Her bias is mild, but it shows. Not bad for a first novel, overall.
I started this one, but it's not an Anna Pigeon mystery...it really isn't even a mystery. It wasn't my taste.
This was not an Anna Pigeon book. I knew that going in and enjoyed it as much as the Pigeons.
